Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-21
2003-06-03
Coby, Frantz (Department: 2171)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S241000, C709S241000, C709S200000, C709S217000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06574628
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to distributed task
Glossary of Terms
Below, for convenience, we set forth a short glossary of terms which supplement explanations of certain terms used in the main text.
“Network” is set of computers and a communication medium which interconnects them.
“Network participant” is an entity that may require a task to be done and has access to a distributed network.
“Packet” is an elemental container for carrying data in a distributed system; it typically includes addressing information used in routing.
“Protocol” is a set of commonly agreed rules which define the structure, format, procedure and/or function that must be followed for elements of a distributed system to communicate with each other.
“Resource” is information or a service accessible at a location in a distributed system.
“Task” is something capable of being done using one or more resources.
“Digital object” generally means sequences of digits (containing digital representations of virtually any kind of information) including an associated unique identifier, called its “handle.”
“Repository” is a resource that stores digital objects and makes them accessible over the network according to applicable terms and conditions.
“Database” is an organized body of information structured so as to analyze queries and furnish replies. A digital object may itself contain a database or elements of a database.
“Rights holder” is a person or entity which has legally enforceable “rights” in a digital object.
“Distributed system” may include a Knowbot system, as well as components which are outside the Knowbot system, such as magnetic diskettes, optical disks, and other large scale storage media, including digital representations of data on paper.
“Knowbot program” is an executable computer program, which may be capable of moving from one location to another. It includes an “instruction sequence” which defines a series of steps to perform a task and also includes other data.
“Courier” is used, on occasion, to refer to an instance of a Knowbot program which is engaged in moving through a distributed system.
“Knowbot system” is a system (including programs) for creating, storing, and moving Knowbot programs among computers, executing the programs, and moving to and storing the results as needed at destination computers or the Network.
“Knowbot service station” is software and/or hardware operating at a location on a network and capable of actions such as generating, storing, executing and deleting Knowbot programs.
“Knowbot service environment” is a medium for handling Knowbot programs and comprises a collection of Knowbot service stations. The Knowbot system provides the service environment.
“Knowbot framework” is a conceptual model which defines a currency (Knowbot programs) for task execution and a medium (Knowbot service environment) for handling the programs.
“Notification authority” is a part of the Knowbot service environment which stores information about operations performed by Knowbot programs.
“Prospective Knowbot programs” are Knowbot programs received by a Knowbot service station from a source outside the Knowbot service environment.
Introduction
In the most basic sense, the invention concerns itself with a system (we call it the Knowbots system) for creating, storing and moving programs among computers, executing the programs and moving to and storing the results as needed at destination computers. While most or all of the computers may be “online” and part of a general computer networking environment, the concepts apply also to offline movement of programs via other media such as magnetic diskettes, optical disks, and other large scale storage media, including digital representations of data on paper (such as bar coding). Moreover, the computers in the system need not be simultaneously connected in an underlying network at all times; this connectivity may come and go from time to time. The label “system” generally implies some systematic regularity in the way these programs are created and managed, the way they interact with each other, the way they interact with stored information, and the way they interact with external systems, including people and programs which are considered to exist outside the scope of the definition of the programs and computers which are part of the system.
For purposes of explanation, we sometimes use the term “Knowbot® system” (Knowbot® is a registered trademark of the Corporation for National Research Intiatives) to refer to portions or all of the system. The Knowbot® system has well-defined boundaries which make it possible to distinguish the components that are part of the system from components which are outside of it and which interact with it only in ways defined by the system. What is inside the Knowbot system and what is outside may together be called a distributed system. The parts which are considered inside the system interact with other parts only in prescribed ways. The rules which define proper behavior are, in effect, specifications which determine how a component can be created and can operate so as to always be considered a properly functioning component of the system.
The Knowbot® system is largely a software system whose components are programs which operate in prescribed ways. Software operates in a computer-based (hardware) environment and often in association with software-based operating systems which are the basic programs that create, allocate and manage resources on the hardware. Underlying the basic design of the Knowbot® system is the assumption that the computers on which the system is operated have operating systems which provide functions needed by the Knowbot® system running “on top of” the operating systems. Any operating system would be suitable if it supports the embedding of the underlying computers in a data communications (networking) environment and is capable of “time-sharing” multiple programs running concurrently under the overall control of the operating system. In addition, the programs (called Knowbot programs) which are capable of moving between computers must contain sufficient information to allow them to begin or resume execution as intended and the computers must provide the necessary support environment such as interpreters, schedulers, and storage. The Knowbot® system may be implemented atop a wide variety of hardware and operating systems.
It is also assumed that the computers that are part of the Knowbots system are at least intermittently connected to a common communication network so that information can pass from one computer to another from time to time, in accordance with the rules of behavior of the Knowbot® system.
The Knowbot® system links together into a common operating environment many diverse and distinct systems and resources and serves as an interconnection system between them. Information about one system or its resources may be communicated to another system via the intermediary mechanism, the Knowbot® system. The Knowbot® system may itself enable tasks to be carried out distinct from the systems and resources which participate. The Knowbots system may also facilitate these participating systems and resources to carry out a given task.
Below we discuss concepts which, when taken together, describe how a collection of software, hardware, and communication facilities can be organized to function as a Knowbot® system. Virtually all of the concepts are based on software artifacts behaving in accordance with a set of prescribed rules. These artifacts include “running programs” and also “digital objects” that are stored away in “repositories” for later access. The concepts of the invention generally are rooted in the definition and behavior of software artifacts rather than on the specifics of any particular hardware, communication network, or operating system. However, if desired, portions or all of the software could be replaced in certain instances with a system of integrated circuits (e.g., semiconductor chips) if and when the technology of very large scale integration permits.
Knowbot® programs are the b
Cerf Vinton G.
Ely David K.
Kahn Robert E.
Coby Frantz
Corporation for National Research Initiatives
LandOfFree
System for distributed task execution does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with System for distributed task execution, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and System for distributed task execution will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3136398